North Melbourne's VFL side has held off 2022 Grand Finalists Southport in a tight finish, winning by eight points at Arden Street Oval.

After an evenly fought opening term, the Kangaroos gained the ascendancy on the scoreboard in the second quarter and clung to their lead as the game wore on.

The Sharks had control throughout the final term but Tom Lynch's well-drilled side was able to remain composed to take out the 9.12 (66) to 8.10 (58) victory.

"It was a really pleasing win ... the majority of the players were really disappointed with the way we performed last week, but the response from early on in the week and how hard they worked at putting in a performance like the one they gave today was just outstanding," head coach Tom Lynch told NMFC Media.

"I couldn't have been more thrilled for them."

KANGAROOS v SHARKS Full match coverage and stats

Young midfielder George Wardlaw was impressive across all four quarters and finished the day with 24 disposals, six tackles and six clearances as the team clinched its first win of 2023.

"He (Wardlaw) was another one in our midfield brigade who was outstanding for a large part of the game," Lynch said.

"It's great to see him out there playing footy and showing us what he's got and he's certainly got some tricks, but the one thing he's really consistent with is his amazing effort.

"I'm super pleased with how his game went today."

In his first game for the club, VFL-listed Ben Bath slotted the opening goal of the game to give the Kangaroos an early lead, but it didn't take long for the Sharks to answer with two of their own to close out the first quarter.

Forward Sam Lowson recorded three majors in a term for the second time this season to steer his side to a handy 23-point buffer heading into the main change.

Southport responded strongly in the third quarter but spoiling and intercept marking efforts from Aiden Bonar, Kallan Dawson and Lachie Young curbed the opposition's impact.

In a low-scoring final stanza, each club managed just the one goal each with Louis Butler's slick checkside being the nail in the coffin.

Blake Drury stood out off half-back in his second game wearing the blue and white, using his run to generate plenty of quick ball movement out of the backline.

"Blake's another guy in our backline, along with Flynn Perez, Dawson, 'Youngy (Lachie Young), 'Bon' (Bonar), 'Hally' (Aaron Hall), Arch (Jackson Archer) - they were a big part in how we we're wanting the set the game up today," Lynch mentioned. 

Eddie Ford and Phoenix Spicer were lively down forward, while skipper Jack Watkins (30 disposals, seven clearances) starred in midfield alongside Charlie Lazzaro (20 disposals, eight tackles).

NORTH MELBOURNE     1.3    7.5     8.10    9.12   (66)     
SOUTHPORT       2.3    3.6    7.6    8.10    (58)     

GOALS  
North Melbourne: Lowson 4, Bath 2, Mahony, Downie, Butler
Southport: Foot 3, Fields 3, Woodcock, Crossley

BEST  
North Melbourne: Wardlaw, Watkins, Drury, Hall, Lowson, Bonar
Southport: Foot, Fields, Dawson

INJURIES
North Melbourne: Nil
Southport: Nil